Nicktoons Rebrand

What does a 9 year old boy think is awesome and exciting? That was the essence of the brief we received from Nicktoons to rebrand their network. Sibling, in collaboration with Justin Harder, created a package that was a combination of humor and action to refresh the Nicktoons brand. Our rebrand includes live action, stop motion, 2D, 3D, and explosive animation to express the wit and expression of the Nick brand.

Papermate - Inkjoy

Draft FCB tapped the Mill to create a commercial for Papermate’s new line of pens - Inkjoy. Their brief was super open, “Free-flowing ink like you’ve never seen before.” That was enough to get us thinking, and soon the answer was clear…

Remember spirographs? Remember the child-like wonder felt after creating your first pattern? We wanted to try and rekindle that feeling in our audience.

Beautiful patterns, graceful choreography, and a huge pleasure to work on!

Georgia Lottery

This pitch for Georgia Lottery illustrates the HUGE number of daily winners through the visual metaphor of an ever growing tower of numbers. We start off with a lonely, human-sized zero amidst a few peach trees. Each new and significantly larger number, mentioned in the VO, is added to the bottom of the stack. This way we can see the size of each number in direct comparison with the numbers preceding it, also building a sense of wonder as the growing tower of 3D numbers climbs into the sky.

Along with each number we will bring on progressively larger scenes of houses, neighborhoods, towns and cities to add to the growing sense of scale. Mixed in to these scenes are graphic elements that help connect to the idea of the lottery and the possibilities of wealth that it promises.

As the spot draws to a close, the massive tower of numbers that we have built begins to quake, and then explodes to reveal a scene similar to the one we found in the beginning. We are left with a peach tree, and next to it is a bold and graphic number 1. And that “1” could be you.

Killing Kennedy

I was lucky enough to be brought in to design and animate the titles for a promotion for Killing Kennedy on National Geographic. The promo was concepted and directed by the amazingly talented Rama Allen.

Oreo - Wonderfilled

This pitch was for an Olympic spot in Oreo's Wonderfilled Campaign w/ Draft FCB.

Here is the write-up:

This direction is a new twist on a graphic style. We wanted to create a simple, playful look that harkened back to childhood, while keeping the energy and excitement of a hockey game played out in our hero’s imagination. To do this we have paired a fun and geometric illustrationstyle with extreme camera angles and graphic transformations.

The animation of the spot should feel seamless— as the camera revolves around a garage it could unfold to reveal a kitchen scene, as our hero is lifted onto the shoulders of fans he is pushed up into bed where he dreams his “Hockey Dream”.

Home Base

This was a pitch for a fundraising campaign for the Home Base program. Home Base is a non-profit organization aimed at providing therapy and psychological treatment for veteran returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Here is my treatment:

“The Long March Home” is a metaphorical, emotional journey that all soldiers must face when returning from combat—exploring the vast number of soldiers that struggle with overcoming the invisible wounds of war.

Imagine a group of silhouetted soldiers marching in slow-motion as our graphic through-line for the piece.

As they march across the frame we begin to focus on a hero’s silhouette. The others soldiers start to fade into the background while simultaneously we reveal a moment frozen in time. The moments flash in a barrage; an IED explosion, a firefight, a helicopter crash—all haunting him. A portrait of this soldier, our hero, comes forward from the darkness of the silhouette. He’s rim-lit with an introspective look on his young but weathered face. He’s back home in civilian clothes yet he’s still struggling with this experience.

Throughout the course of the piece we’ll focus on several of these vignettes—each featuring a different experience and a different piece of portraiture. Powerful images are revealed; hands clenching, a shadowed head bowing, and shoulders stooping. Each shot will play upon the internal battle experienced by the soldier. They all lead up to the final portrait of the soldier looking up and making eye contact with the camera, connecting to the viewer, as if calling them to action.

The end of the spot should be iconic and uplifting. A wide shot of soldiers marching home together.

Each soldier in the group overcoming their own personal struggles with the support of the people around them.

Digestive Advantage

This pitch was called "Street Smart" for the brand Digestive Advantage:

In “Street Smart,” our heroine is besieged by digestive adversity—but rather than showing her literal symptoms, they are represented by scenes anyone who’s spent time in a big city will be familiar with.

Our camera moves from left to right as she navigates through a busy sidewalk (cramping) or across congested streets (constipation). These edges and corners introduce new angles and perspectives, but the left-to-right movement remains constant. We never lose sight of her, no matter how complex the backdrops get, thanks to a careful choice of color palette. These changes in perspective also allow us room to bring in a sense of dimension.

Finally, our heroine turns to a quiet corner, where we get our first glimpse of the “Tummy Takeback” logo plastered in the window of a local pharmacy. From here, it’s smooth sailing as she meets a friend for coffee, filled with ease and confidence, empowering her to comfortably go through the rest of her day.

We close with our female lead walking across a serene city block and exits frame leaving us with our wonderful product to focus on.

Collaboration

The talented San Francisco agency, Grand, wanted to help make their client's social networking software a little less technical and a little more emotional. Using a smartly anti-tech approach, Grand asked us to focus on the way people collaborate to produce amazing things - a simple concept that goes back to the caveman and his stick. We would develop an iconic character and visual stories that cut through the tech and speak towards people working together, for good and for bad. Our character design became a mascot for the brand, and our two animation shorts - with playful scores from @kamptweets - struck a delicate movement from character animation to graphic abstraction, and back again.

Kiehl's - A History of

Kiehl’s - A History of

Shampoo and conditioner. Scents and oils. Attraction powder and hand lotion. No, it's not your Friday night at home, it's the legacy of reputable brand and New York apothecary, Kiehl's. Our partner in crime was agency Sub Rosa, who asked HUSH to develop The History of Kiehl's - part of kiehls.com branded content and a window into a well-known global brand that got its start on a little downtown NYC corner. Written, designed, animated and served up steamin' hot by HUSH, we're really proud of this big history of a great little brand.

Green Mountain Coffee

This pitch for Green Mountain coffee is meant to take the audience on a journey through the Green Mountain universe of flavors. Vermont blend, Italian cafe, Seattle roast - each vignette is composed of multiple perspectives cleverly merged into engaging compositions. A view out the windows of the Tully’s loft and we see both down a cobblestone street and out over the rooftops of a harbor.

Haverty's - How Z's are Made

Haverty’s

Haverty’s came to the Mill to execute a series of commercials around the idea of “how Zs are made.”Starting with restful sleepers, the Zs travel far and wide until they finally come to rest in a bassinet and at the beginning of the word “zoo.”

Kiehl's - Fragrance Fusions

This brand video was created for Kiehl’s to launch a new line of skin care and body products. The main selling point for these products were the signature fragrance fusions sourced from all over the world.